In recent years, every device is connected to the Internet to enable remote control of the device or common use of setting of a plurality of devices.
On the other hand, AI (Artificial Intelligence) has been advanced in devices, so that use of AI also in home appliances enables automatic control reflecting users' preference.
Along therewith, at the time of replacement of a device, it is assumed that a user's need arises to use setting environment of the device used so far (hereinafter, referred to as a former device or a first device) also for a device to be newly used (hereinafter, referred to as a new device or a second device).
For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-176172 discloses a device control apparatus which controls, via networks, a shared device commonly used by a plurality of users and installed in a common space. A conventional device control apparatus calculates setting information for use in a function provided by a shared device based on use history information of, among personal devices owned personally by the respective users in a common space, personal devices which provide functions the same as or similar to the functions provided by the shared device, and sets the setting information to the shared device via networks.
However, in the above-described conventional art, when replacing a first device by a second device, a difference between performance of the first device and performance of the second device is not taken into consideration, so that further improvement is required.